HIGHER EDUCATION ENGINEERING
REAL COLLABORATION
REAL PERFORMANCE
REAL INSPIRATION
Dear Ken,
Congratulations on your advancement to the short-list and design competition for the Wake Forest University Student Dining Center project! It will be a true campus centerpiece for the university, and your advancement for such a high-profile project speaks to your experience and expertise.
HEAPY has been providing MEP engineering expertise to Wake Forest University for several years, completing numerous projects on the Reynolda and Wake Downtown campuses. We’ve discussed the Student Dining Center with WFU’s capital planning team for many months and have followed the progression of this impactful project with great interest. We’re confident our student center and dining hall expertise, along with our strong partnership with Wake Forest University, will complement and enhance your team’s ability to make Wake Forest University’s vision a reality.
The following package provides our company overview, key MEP design drivers for this project, along with relevant project highlights. A few highlights to bring to your attention:
• Extensive project experience for a wide variety of higher education clients, small to large, private and public. This experience provides insights on any issue that is likely to be faced by the project team.
• Deep understanding of the Wake Forest University facilities standards, staff, operational preferences and priorities, and design processes. We suggest you reach out to their team for feedback on our performance in support of their projects and goals.
• Many years of leadership in engineering design related to high-performance buildings, energy efficiency, sustainability, and carbon reduction. HEAPY is signatory to MEP 2040, and boasts an in-house team of energy modeling, sustainability and carbon data experts.
We are hoping for an opportunity to engage with you as the development of the project team moves into the final stages. If you are willing, we would be pleased to schedule a meeting for a better introduction, and to talk about specific challenges for the Student Dining Center.
We are pleased to present the following highlights and look forward to further discussion.
Yours Truly,
DOUG SALES, PE, HBDP Senior Project Manager Raleigh Office Leader Principal
Bowling Green State University Carillon Place Dining Center
Sinclair Community College eLearning CTL Innovation Lab
ENHANCING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
HEAPY is a nationally recognized leader in sustainable and resilient engineering design, ranked a TOP #33 UNIVERSITY ENGINEER by Building Design + Construction Giants 400 Survey. Founded in 1945, the corporation plans, designs, and commissions over $4 billion annually in total construction costs.
In the past five years, our team has successfully executed more than 800 EDUCATION PROJECTS across the United States. We keep your project on time and on budget, helping reduce risk and ensure success. We make buildings functional and smart, while honoring the aesthetics of the spaces where people live and work.
INSPIRATION
Our team partners with university leadership, facility directors, and architects to develop customized solutions that reflect each institution’s goals and budget. From large public universities to smaller private colleges, we take a tailored approach, ensuring every facility we design is adaptable, efficient, and capable of meeting future demands.
Designing and engineering higher education facilities requires a focus on creating sustainable, future-ready spaces that enhance learning, foster collaboration, and prioritize the wellbeing of students and staff.
We design living spaces, and dining halls that foster comfort, community, and sustainability. Our expertise ensures energy-efficient systems, adaptable layouts, and modern amenities that enhance the student experience while promoting wellbeing and social interaction.
HEAPY maintains ISO Certification (FS-98575)
“I really enjoy seeing clients get excited when their projects come together. Knowing that we played a part in delivering their project, it is very satisfying to witness this reaction from clients who are about to move into a new or renovated space that helps them achieve whatever they are setting out to accomplish.”
Doug is a Principal and leads the HEAPY Raleigh Office. He is highly respected in the design and construction industry due to his 30 years of expertise as a senior project manager and as mechanical engineer. His commitment to design innovation is showcased on many high-performance building projects that excel in sustainability, resiliency, and energy efficiency. His leadership experience on large MEP projects helps drive the technical knowledge and quality assurance on new and renovation projects.
Doug began work with HEAPY in 1987 after graduating from The University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology. Doug has also worked as a Mechanical Engineer for Johnson Controls World Services at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. His responsibilities included performing engineering design of building mechanical systems for facilities supporting NASA and USAF space programs. Projects while at Cape Canaveral included life-science laboratories, command and control facilities, telecommunications facilities, and spacecraft assembly, preparation, and launch facilities.
Doug is responsible for HVAC design, including drawings, specifications, and cost estimating, for a variety of commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. He performs all engineering functions to produce a complete and functional system including: load calculations, sizing, layout and specification of mechanical equipment, duct and piping systems and associated equipment. Further responsibilities include coordination of HVAC systems with architectural requirements, as well as other building trades, and assuring compliance with applicable building codes.
BUILDING LASTING RELATIONSHIPS
80% OF OUR BUSINESS IS WITH REPEAT CLIENTS
“HEAPY has consistently been communicative, thorough, and timely, and have frequently gone above and beyond what was expected of them to make sure the University was served.”
— Rob Arthur, PE, Mechanical Project Manager, Design and Construction North Carolina State University
ACADEMIC SUCCESS BUILDING PURDUE UNIVERSITY
HEAPY was a partner for the study and is now providing design services for this transformative project, which extends Purdue’s mission of higher education at scale. Purdue University’s new Indianapolis downtown campus features a 16-STORY, MIXEDUSE BUILDING
It will provide four levels of academic space with classrooms, chemistry labs, maker spaces, and retail offerings, alongside 11 residential levels accommodating up to 500 students. Plans also include a DINING AREA WITH UP TO 400 SEATS and a large gathering space for community and student engagement.
Designed to evolve with the needs of experiential education, the facility will support project-based learning opportunities, including K-12 STEM enrichment programs offered during nights, weekends, and summer through residential and non-residential experiences.
The program will feature STEM wet/dry teaching labs, active learning classrooms, flexible workspaces, collaboration areas, dining and retail spaces, café and coffee shop, community rooms, industry partnership spaces, and campus support areas.
The building is part of the Hard-Tech Corridor, a 65-mile innovation-driven development connecting Indianapolis to Purdue’s flagship West Lafayette campus, with the LEAP Innovation District serving as a central hub. This new urban campus positions Purdue at the forefront of academic and technological advancement while fostering industry collaboration and community engagement.
KEY DESIGN DRIVER
BUILDING AS CAMPUS CENTERPIECE
This building is envisioned as a central focus for student life/student success and will be a centerpiece of the Reynolda campus.
SOLUTION / OPPORTUNITY EVIDENCE
The HEAPY team is supporting the university and architects vision for this building by designing systems that complement and enhance the appearance and impact of this building.
This building is the entire campus, serving as the physical signature of Purdue University within the Indianapolis city center, and facilitating all students and faculty.
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI MARKETPOINTE DINING
Driven by trends in student enrollment and the desire to advance the university’s master plan for food service, this project renovated the main level and portions of the basement.
The project scope included interior renovation, increased seating capacity, elevator upgrade, refreshed dining equipment and furnishings, new audio/visual equipment, restroom renovations, exterior envelope modifications, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life-safety upgrades.
Designed with students in mind, the space offers room for group gatherings, as well as plenty of options for individual dining. The reimagined space creates an immersive environment with upgraded sound system, LCD screens, and digital menu boards.
The north dining room is capable of ADAPTIVE USE AS A MEETING ROOM OR COLLABORATION SPACE during off hours. Utilities were designed to ensure future flexibility as the needs of the space change.
The project was coordinated with other ongoing adjacent projects on campus, including the Calhoun and Siddall residence hall renovations. This required careful coordination to ensure seamless and holistic integration of upgraded building systems relative to adjacent buildings and the campus as a whole. KEY
HIGH DENSITY DINING INFRASTRUCTURE
Complex MEP demands for a commercial dining facility required integration with two new dormitories designed by separate teams, creating significant coordination challenges across three interconnected buildings.
HEAPY served as the connecting engineer, aligning campus utilities, infrastructure, and system capacities between the renovated dining hall and adjacent residence halls.
Successfully upgraded 30-yearold infrastructure and coordinated campus utilities for all three buildings, delivering a cohesive, high-performing campus destination.
DOWNTOWN BUILDING 60 SOUTH WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
HEAPY was engaged by Wake Forest University to study and diagnose the HVAC systems at the Downtown Building 60 South, a mixed-use facility housing the Wake Forest University Engineering department. Since moving into the renovated space, the university experienced ongoing issues.
HEAPY’s review of initial and fit out building drawings revealed that ductwork velocities and pressures exceeded recommended values, and the DX rooftop equipment had improper refrigerant coil circuiting, causing air stratification.
Onsite investigations and functional testing uncovered that the temporary emergency mode of operation for HVAC units had become the standard, leading to airflow conflicts and insufficient room-level conditioning.
Additionally, the building was operating at a significant negative pressure, introducing unconditioned outside air and exacerbating temperature and humidity issues. Faulty outdoor airflow measuring stations contributed to these problems.
OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
Engineering system design must plan for and facilitate efficient operation and maintenance. Adhering to campus standards and making intentional design decisions to enable these is critical for a large building with complex systems.
HEAPY identified potential energy savings of approximately 993,300 kWh of electricity and 40,300 ccf of natural gas. To address these issues, three major capital projects were proposed: replacing the DX equipment with chilled water systems, expanding the existing chiller plant, and improving dehumidification, equipment reliability, and environmental control.
HEAPY has extensive experience designing campus MEP systems aligned with university standards, ensuring seamless integration with operations. We engage facilities leadership early to align system performance with operational expectations and capabilities.
HEAPY has partnered with the WFU operations team for several years to assess and resolve significant HVAC challenges in this engineering lab. We defined the scope and are now designing the improvements in close coordination with campus standards and stakeholders.
MEP 2040 CHALLENGE DRIVEN BY PURPOSE
NET ZERO OPERATIONAL CARBON
MEP 2040 requires HEAPY to ensure that by 2030, all projects designed are net zero in operational carbon, where the building is highly energy efficient, does not emit greenhouse gases directly from energy use, and is powered solely by clean energy — a Zero Emissions Building.
To achieve holistic decarbonization, building optimization will be designed in tandem with the building system’s materials efficiency and refrigerant impact, i.e. its embodied carbon emissions. In collaboration with our clients and partners, we will utilize simulation techniques to understand the impacts our design decisions have on operational and embodied carbon.
NET ZERO EMBODIED CARBON
Embodied carbon refers to the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials. Each piece of equipment and all components we specify on projects have an embodied carbon impact.
To quantify embodied emissions of our MEP systems and components, we will perform life cycle assessments (LCA), the industry methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life, primarily the Global Warming Potential (GWP) in units of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO
ENERGY, CARBON AND WELL-BEING ALIGNMENT
MEP Systems must reinforce Wake Forest University’s stewardship and sustainability goals.
HEAPY has a lengthy history of delivering highperforming building systems from our leadership with LEED project execution for several decades, to our focus on energy performance on every project, to our HEAPY signature to the MEP 2040 challenge, and our focus on carbon reduction.
HEAPY has executed more than 400 LEED certified projects. We have developed a team of in-house experts who are focused solely on the carbon impact of our designs, both carbon emissions and embedded carbon. Our design experience runs the gamut from geothermal, photovoltaic, and microgrids.
EXPERIENCE ADDITIONAL
• Ball State University Cardinal Central Student Center
• Bowling Green State University Carollon Place Dining
• Bowling Green State University McDonald Dining Hall
• Bowling Green State University Oaks Dining Center
• Cedarville University Bolthouse Academic Center
• Cedarville University Library Cafe Addition
• DePauw University Hoover Dining
• Kent State University Innovation & Dining Hub
• Miami University Maplestreet Dining Facility
• Miami University Western Campus Dining
• North Carolina State University Fountain Dining Hall
• Ohio University Boyd Dining Hall
• University of Dayton Kennedy Union Dining
• University of Dayton Marianist Hall Emporium Dining
• University of Dayton Marycrest Dining
• University of Dayton Virginia Wolf Kettering Dining
• Wabash College Community Center
Wabash College Community Center